The present invention relates generally to collation strips for fasteners which are adapted to be disposed within power tool magazine assemblies so as to be driven by means of suitable driver blade assemblies of the power tools into any one of a variety of substrates, such as, for example, masonry, concrete, steel, wood, or the like, and more particularly to a new and improved nail collation strip which is provided with fastener guide rings for respective use in conjunction with each one of the nail-type fasteners so as to define a new and improved collation strip assembly which is able to be supported upon the rail members or shear blocks provided within the power tool magazine assembly and to ensure that the nail-type fasteners are driven and guided in a substantially coaxial manner within the nosepiece bore of the power tool whereby the nail-type fasteners are driven along axes which are disposed substantially perpendicular to the face of the substrate into which the nail-type fasteners are to be driven.
Nail-type fasteners, to be driven into an underlying substrate such as, for example, masonry, steel, concrete, wood, or the like, are usually fed within magazine assemblies of fastener-driving power tools in the form of collated strips. The strips of fasteners are moved along the magazine assembly by means of, for example, well-known spring-biasing mechanisms so as to serially dispose or present an endmost one of the fasteners coaxially within a nosepiece bore whereby a driver blade assembly of the power tool can then impact the endmost one of the fasteners, cause separation of the endmost one of the fasteners from the remaining portion of the collated strip of fasteners, and subsequently drive the endmost one of the fasteners through the nosepiece bore and into the substrate.
One important objective, to always be achieved in conjunction with the driving of such nail-type fasteners into a particular substrate by means of such fastener-driving tools, is to ensure as best as possible that the longitudinal axis of each nail-type fastener is disposed substantially perpendicular to the face or surface of the substrate upon which the tool nosepiece is disposed during the fastener-driving operation. This not only ensures that the nail-type fastener is completely or fully driven into the substrate so as to correspondingly achieve full or complete penetration into the substrate and thereby enhance withdrawal resistance of the nail-type fastener from the substrate, but in addition, such disposition of each nail-type fastener further ensures proper seating of the fastener upon the substrate so as to in turn ensure, for example, proper clamping or attachment of components or work elements to the substrate. In particular, if the fastener is inserted into the substrate in a non-perpendicular or askewed or tilted manner, one side portion of the fastener head can in effect be embedded within, for example, a sheet-type component to be secured to the underlying substrate, while the diametrically opposite side portion of the fastener head can be disposed slightly above the surface of the sheet-type component. Wind forces can then cause portions of the sheet-type component to be pulled or blown over the fastener head eventually leading to dislodgment or disengagement of the sheet-type component from its secured state upon the substrate. Accordingly, it is essential or imperative that such nail-type fasteners not only be presented or disposed in a substantially coaxial manner with respect to the nosepiece bore of the fastener-driving tool, but in addition, it is also essential or imperative to retain such coaxial disposition of the nail-type fastener within the nosepiece bore of the fastener-driving tool throughout the entire driving movement of the nail-type fastener through the nosepiece bore of the fastener-driving tool.
One manner or means for dealing with this problem of properly presenting the nail-type fasteners to the nosepiece bore of the tool such that the nail-type fasteners will be disposed or oriented in a substantially coaxial manner with respect to the nosepiece bore of the fastener-driving tool has been alluded to or briefly disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,622 which issued to Gupta et al. on Aug. 3, 1999. As disclosed within FIG. 10 of such patent, the angling or xe2x80x9ccockedxe2x80x9d disposition of the fastener assembly 50 is reduced or substantially eliminated by minimizing the distance defined between the head portion 62 of the fastener 60 and the upper inner wall 212 of the magazine holder 210. While such means has adequately addressed the problem or difficulty of properly presenting, disposing, or orienting the nail-type fasteners with respect to the nosepiece bore 220 of the tool prior to the actual disposition of each nail-type fastener 60 within the nosepiece bore 220, a need still exists for maintaining such proper disposition or orientation of the nail-type fastener within the nosepiece bore of the tool throughout the entire fastener driving operation.
Still further, as has been noted hereinbefore, it is also known that conventional fastener-driving power tools have magazine structures incorporated therein wherein the collated strips of nail-type fasteners are moved along magazine rail members or shear blocks by means of the aforenoted spring-biasing mechanisms. In accordance with a conventional type of magazine assembly or rail system, the nail-type fasteners are supported upon the magazine rails or shear blocks by means of their head structures. If, however, substantially long or elongated nail-type fasteners are being employed, it is conceivable that as a result of such nail-type fasteners being supported upon the magazine rail members by means of their head structures, the shank portions of the nail-type fasteners may no longer be disposed or presented to the nosepiece bore of the tool in a coaxial manner. Accordingly, when the nail-type fasteners are subsequently individually driven into and through the nosepiece bore of the tool by means of the tool driver blade assembly, it is likely that such nail-type fasteners may not be driven through the nosepiece bore in a coaxial manner whereby proper insertion of the nail-type fasteners into the substrate will not be achieved. The components to be attached to the substrate may therefore not in fact be properly or securely attached, and in addition, the pull-out or withdrawal resistance of the fasteners with respect to the substrate may be compromised.
Still yet further, while collated strips of fasteners are of course well known, one of the most common methods of forming such collated strips of fasteners is to firstly form the collated strips from a suitable plastic material by means of suitable injection molding techniques, and subsequently, to either insert the nails into recesses or pockets specially formed within a single one the strips, or to insert the nails between a pair of collation strips which are then, for example, heat-sealed together. Either one of such collation strip processing techniques, however, is quite tedious and time-consuming, and is therefore not particularly desirable from an economical manufacturing point of view.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved collated strip of nail-type fasteners wherein the collation strip is to be integrally disposed or formed upon the multiple shanks of serially arranged nail-type fasteners so as to render the fabrication of the collated strip of nail-type fasteners economical from a manufacturing point of view. In addition, a need exists in the art for a new and improved collated strip of nail-type fasteners wherein the collation strip could in effect simultaneously perform a plurality of functions such as, for example, to support the collated strip of nail-type fasteners upon the rail members or shear blocks of the tool fastener magazine so as to guide the collated strip of nail-type fasteners through the tool fastener magazine, and to cooperate with the head structures of the nail-type fasteners so as to guide individual ones of the plurality of nail-type fasteners through the nosepiece bore of the tool as the fasteners are serially driven through the nose-piece bore of the tool by means of the tool driver blade assembly and thereby ensure the coaxial disposition of the nail-type fasteners within the nosepiece bore of the tool during the entire driven operation of each nail-type fastener through the nosepiece bore of the tool so as to in turn ensure the fact that the nail-type fasteners are properly disposed or oriented with respect to the substrate into which the nail-type fasteners are being driven.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved collated strip for nail-type fasteners, and a new and improved collation strip assembly comprising the collation strip and the nail-type fasteners.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved collation strip for nail-type fasteners, and a new and improved collation strip assembly comprising the collation strip and the nail-type fasteners, which overcomes the various disadvantages and drawbacks characteristic of PRIOR ART collated strips of nail-type fasteners.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved collation strip for nail-type fasteners, and a new and improved collation strip assembly comprising the collation strip and the nail-type fasteners, which is economical to manufacture.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved collation strip for nail-type fasteners, and a new and improved collation strip assembly comprising the collation strip and the nail-type fasteners, which is able to simultaneously support the collated strip of nail-type fasteners upon the rail members or shear blocks of the tool fastener magazine so as to guide the collated strip of nail-type fasteners through the tool fastener magazine, and to cooperate with the head structures of the nail-type fasteners so as to guide individual ones of the plurality of nail-type fasteners through the nosepiece bore of the tool as the fasteners are serially driven through the nosepiece bore of the tool by means of the tool driver blade assembly and thereby ensure the coaxial disposition of the nail-type fasteners within the nosepiece bore of the tool during the entire driven operation of each nail-type fastener through the nosepiece bore of the tool so as to in turn ensure the fact that the nail-type fasteners are properly disposed or oriented with respect to the substrate into which the nail-type fasteners are being driven.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved collation strip for nail-type fasteners, and a new and improved collation strip assembly comprising the collation strip and the nail-type fasteners, which comprises a plurality of nail-type fasteners upon the shanks of which a collation strip has been formed by extrusion techniques. The collation strip can be fabricated from any one of a plurality of thermoplastic materials, such as, for example, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), or a combination thereof, and the collation strip member disposed annularly around each one of the nail-type fasteners has a substantially bell-shaped cross-sectional configuration. The flat bottom surface of the bell-shaped member enables the bell-shaped members, and therefore the entire collation strip assembly comprising the collation strip and the nail-type fasteners, to be supported upon the rail members or shear blocks of the power tool magazine assembly as the collated strip of fasteners is incrementally moved toward the nosepiece bore of the tool by means of the tool magazine spring-biasing assembly. In addition, the outer diametrical extent or dimension of each bell-shaped members is fabricated so as to be substantially the same as the outer diametrical extent of each head member of each nail-type fastener. In this manner, each nail-type fastener is able to be supported at two axially separated locations along the longitudinal or axial extent thereof so as to ensure that each nail-type fastener is coaxially disposed within the nosepiece bore of the power tool throughout the entire driven movement of each nail-type fastener through the nosepiece bore of the power tool by means of the tool driver blade assembly. If desired, additional collation strips may be provided upon the shank portions of the nail-type fasteners such that the nail-type fasteners are supported at more than two axially spaced locations thereof.